The Extinction of Desire: A Tale of Enlightenment

De Anima #1

by Michael Boylan

What would you do if you suddenly became rich? Michael O’Meara had never asked himself this question. A high school history teacher in Maryland, Michael is content- until, after a freak accident, he unexpectedly finds himself the beneficiary of a million dollars that disrupt his life and leave him questioning everything he had and everything he thought he wanted. The Extinction of Desire blends Buddhist philosophy and fiction to maps the course of one man’s voyage to uncover the fundamental truths about what is really valuable in life.

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Michael Boylan (Ph.D. Philosophy, University of Chicago: M.A. English Literature, University of Chicago) is Professor of Philosophy at Marymount University. Boylan is the author of 31 books and over 130 Scholarly and popular articles on topics ranging from Philosophy to Literature.

Boylan's latest Philosophy books are Natural Rights: A Theory (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press/September 2014) and The Origins of Ancient Greek Science (London: Routledge/ May 2015). His recent novels are, Rainbow Curve (2014), To the Promised Land (2015), Naked Reverse (2016), and Georgia: A Trilogy--Part One (2016) & Georgia: A Trilogy--Part Two (2017).

Reviews

[Kristy · Rating 4 out of 5]

What would you do if you won a million dollars? Most of us have dreamed about winning a large sum of money and what we would do with it. Most of us wouldn't imagine that it could lead to a philosophical journey. This book is about a man who inherits a million dollars and what happens after he receives it. At first he seems to wander aimlessly not sure what to do with the money; oblivious to what is really going on around him. He slowly becomes more aware of his surroundings and the people in them, usually helped along by people you wouldn't expect. He goes from being a man with no purpose to someone who finds out what life is about. At least to him. I would highly recommend this book. The story is very compelling and the main character is very real. It has a couple of spots that seem a bit pedantic but these are very few.

[Theresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

My friend's dad wrote this book - he's a writer and an academic scholar of bioethics and philosophy. The best part of this book was you felt you were learning something BIG when you followed the main character through his adventures. Problem was not really knowing what all the symbolism meant. Overall, I liked it!